The only thing from the interview I care about: "We are thinking about how to make Android handle updates better. We see ways we can do this. It's early days. We're talking with our partners and working our way through it. We need time to figure out the mechanics, but it's definitely an area of focus for me and for the team." We've seen empty promises about this before, though.

I 'll enter grumpy mode again, but doesn't the unstable ABI of the Linux kernel prevent any attempt at providing smooth Android upgrades?

From a practical perspective, non-open drivers made for a certain Linux kernel version are useless for subsequent versions. And those *bleep*ing SoC manufacturers won't put their drivers in the tree (aka open them up). So, drivers must be rewritten every time a new Android version (with a new Linux kernel version) is released.

Ever wondered why even Google gives up on upgrading their Nexus phones after some versions? Or why the Nexus S had stability issues when it initially got the upgrade to ICS? (hint: driver issues).